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During World War II London suffered from the bombardment of rockets from Germany, namely the V1 and V2 rockets. Then it had to face a new enemy, jet aircraft. What was the name of the first jet aircraft in operation and why was there a delay in bringing them into operation?
Question
#28362. Asked by mochyn. (Feb 18 03 10:42 PM)
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Bean
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Mochyn, my husband assures me that the V1 was not a rocket weapon. It was a pilotless winged aircraft powered by a pulse jet mounted above the tail.
However, he agrees with Friar Tuck that the jet aircraft in operation after the V1 and V2 was a Messerschmitt. He thinks development problems delayed it?
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Senior Moments
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What kept the Me262 from reaching its potential was, basically, time. It took too long to {develop;} the principle problem being the engines, which of course had never been produced before and therefore represented a host of new challenges to engineers working with limited resources. It is a quite popular myth that Hitler himself caused a huge delay in the production of the 262 by demanding it be produced as a fighter/bomber instead of a fighter. Myth, but not necessarily true, as the delay was largely non-existent compared to other factors. Probably more significant was wasted training time for bombing roles, but even that was minimal. In point of fact the reason the 262 entered the war so late was massive delays in the engine program and chronic production problems.
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Senior Moments
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Hitler ordered that the technical tests of the Me 262s should be continued with a few prototypes, expressly forbidding any kind of preparation for mass production. This far-reaching decision was taken without the agreement of the Supreme Commander of the Luftwaffe. The production of the Me 262 had experienced a delay of nearly a year as a result of Hitler's personal order in the autumn of 1940 to suspend the research - because, according to him, the war was about to end with the inevitable surrender of the British.
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mochyn
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V-1 rockets were not feared as much as the V-2 as you could hear the engine cut out so you take action .V-2 rockets made no sound so there was no advance warning while the M.E 262 experienced technical difficulties until the war had finished.Part of the delay was that Hitler stopped development as senior moments has said.Got to get up earlier
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Barrow boy
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Senior Moments' first posting is correct. The delays were due to logistical and design difficulties, not changing the role between fighter and bomber roles. Even when the Me262 became fully operational in late 1944 the Jumo engines needed to be replaced after every 25 hours of flying.
Incidentally, London never saw a Me262. They were used almost solely as fighters against daylight bombing raids within Germany. A night fighter was developed, but not used in active service.
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